April 12th at Hetch Helsingborg
In collaboration with Hetch, we hosted an impactful event titled "The Future WiE: Women Entrepreneurs in a Sustainable Smart City." This event aimed to provide insightful discussions on sustainability in entrepreneurship.
Hetch, known for its innovative space, was the perfect setting for this occasion.Katinka Janson Frohm, First impression & Facility manager supported us in the event.
Aliya Sabir from Hetch shared her personal journey and highlighted Hetch as an ecosystem of tech companies, startups, and innovation teams that fosters knowledge sharing and provides innovative workspaces environment. During the event, we had engaging conversations about true sustainability beyond greenwashing.
- Trace Tang, an expat in Helsingborg, emphasized the importance of starting with children and meeting the needs of future generations.
- Hanna Bergström, the founder of cafe Bruket, shared her journey in creating an ecological workspace and her contributions to the Matkooperativet Helsingborg, a member-owned grocery store promoting sustainable food.
- Andreea Neagu, with her extensive engagement in the global sustainable travel industry, discussed her work at WeSolve in sustainability client services.
- Rose Huang enlightened the audience about AI's role in sustainable animal farming.
- Eva Stal shared insights on Swedish waste management solutions through NSR and RecoLab.
- Yvette Larsson an IB PYP international educator and an EdStartUp innovator, shared on how to use creative teaching method to encourage children to be part of the future's solutions.
April 19th at Ideon Innovation
I was glad that we collaborated with Ideon Innovation and Venture Lab. Sara Egidius, Head of Business Development at Ideon Innovations, and Ylva Lidin, the project manager, mentor and business developer for Venture Lab, supported us in organising the meetup. Sara provided valuable insights into the role of Ideon Innovations in bringing innovative ideas to life.
This event curated an interesting group of female founders.
- Divya Mohan founded Ooble, a plant-based, biodegradable, and cost-effective straw. She has backgroud in Lund University - Erasmus Mundus Food Innovation and Product Design and experiences from Probi, Oatly, and Viva Pro.
- WJ Yang founded Mbegu Solar. She is dedicated to facilitating the transition from fossil fuels to solar energy in emerging markets. With a master's degree in Innovation and Global Sustainable Development from Lund University, she has made a tangible impact in the renewable energy sector.
- Vanja Plicanic Samuelsson, founder and CEO at Qoitech. With an Industrial PhD from Lund University and a background in Electromagnetic Theory and Electro Science and Technology Management, she brings extensive experience from her senior management role at Sony Mobile Communications and leads her team in providing disruptive developer tools for energy optimization of battery-driven devices.
- Wala Liliana Loubani, she is the CEO of UrKip which offers digital coaching services through AI.She has garnered multiple awards at esteemed institutions such as Stanford, Google, Apsis, Marin Software, and Green Leads.
- Cara Feng, she is a master's student in Lund University - Erasmus Mundus Food Innovation and Product Design. Cara collaborates with Tetra Pak for her master's thesis while also serving as a social and environmental impact entrepreneurship consultant for 180 DC Lund.
The participants bring diverse experiences and backgrounds to the discussion. The discussed topics included:
- Hardware startups face higher risks associated with supply chain, such as sourcing components, managing logistics, and ensuring product quality. These complexities create uncertainties for investors.
- Investors exhibit a bias towards software startups due to scalability, faster iteration cycles, and potential for higher profit margins. However, it is still challenging for female SaaS founders to raise capitals.
- It seems that in many cases that women entrepreneurs tend to prioritize social impact while men focus on financial gain.
- Coaching sector is undergoing significant changes. AI has the potential to revolutionize the industry by offering personalized coaching experiences at scale.
